francfort



Patented Mar. 7, I899.

A. H. FRANCFORT.

ACETYLENE GAS APPARATUS.

(Application filed July 26, 1898.)

2 Sheets8heqt I.

(N0 Model.)

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No. 620,647. Patented Mar. 7, I899. A. H. FRANCFOBT.

ACETYLENE GAS APPARATUS.

(Application filed July 26, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED H. FRANCFORT, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

Ac ETYLEN E-GAS APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 620,647, dated March 7, 1899.

Application filed July-26,1898. Serial No. 686,889. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED H. FRANCFORT, a citizen of the United States, residing atNew York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene-Gas Apparatus, of which the following is a full and complete specification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to apparatus for generating acetylene gas; and the object thereof is to provide an improved apparatus of this class which is simple in construction and operation and wherein the calcic carbid which is employed for the generation of the gas is subdivided or placed in separate boxes or receptacles one above the other and into which water is successively fed from the bottom box or receptacle upwardly, whereby I do away with the great inconvenience of an undivided charge of the calcic carbid, which can only be made to yield all the gas it is capable of pro ducing when separated or divided, as is well understood by all those familiarwith appara tus of this class, a further object being to provide an apparatus of this class with improved automatic devices for controlling the flow of the water which is admitted to the calcic carbid in the generator; and with these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which the separate parts of my improvement are designated by the same numerals of reference in each of the views, and in which Figure l is a side view of an acetylene apparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a central vertical section of one of the generators which I employ, and Fig. 3 a partial plan view showing the arrangement of the pipes which connect the generators with the gas ometer.

In the practice of my invention I provide a gasometer, which consists of the usual cylindrical casing or receiver 5, which is filled or partially filled with water in the usual manner and in which is placed a vertically-movable pressure-drum 6, which is open at the bottom and closed at the top and which is provided with the usual guide-rollers 7 and one or more counterbalance-weights 8, suspended by a cord 8, passed over suitable pulleys 9 and connected with said drum, as shown at 10, all these features of construction being the same as those usually employed.

In the construction of the generator I employ a cylindrical casing 11, two of which are shown in Fig. 1, which is provided near its lower end with a transverse partition-plate 12 and in which is placed a receptacle 13, which is open at the top and closed at the bottom and between which and the cylindrical casing 11 is an annular chamber 14. I also employ a supplemental tubular receptacle 15, which is closed at the bottom and open at the top, and placed in the tubular receptacle 15 is a plurality of small cylindrical boxes or receptacles 16, which, as shown in the drawings, are six in number. These boxes or receptacles decrease in size from the bottom upwardly, and the lower end of each of these boxes or receptacles enters the open top of the one directly below it, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and each of said boxes or receptacles is preferably provided near the bottom thereof with an annular row of perforations 20.

The cylindrical casing 11 is enlarged at the top, so as to form an annular chamber 21, and the said casing and said annular chamber 21 are designed to be filled with water.

The second part of the generator consists of a casing 22, the bottom of which is open and the upper end of which is provided near the top thereof with a transverse partitionplate 23, by means of which a receptacle 24 is formed, which is also in practice filled with water for the purpose of weighting said casing, or any other means for weighting the casing 22 may be employed, and the open lower end of said casing is adapted to enter the annular chamber 14 between the tubular receptacle 13 and the cylindrical casing 11, and said water-receptacle 24 may be provided with a cover, if desired, and around the top thereof is preferably formed an annular flange or rim 25, which constitutes a handle or means by which the said casing 22 may be removed when desired, and the said casing 22 is supported in the position shown in Fig. 2by side arms or brackets 27, which are secured thereto and which rest on the bottom of the annular chamber 21.

Secured to one side of the water-casing 5 of the gasometer is a reservoir 28, in which water is maintained at a constant level by automatic valve devices constructed in any desired manner, and extending from the water-reservoir 8 is a pipe 29, in which is placed a valve 30, which is operated by a lever '31, which passes through an opening in the lower end of an arm 32, which is secured to the drum 6 of the gasometer, and the valve is opened or closed by the drum as it rises and falls, the movement of this drum being similar to that of all devices of this class.

Each of the generators 11 is provided at one side and near the bottom thereof with a pipe 33, which extends into the inner casing 15 of the generator and communicates with the interior thereof at the bottom thereof, as shown in Fig. 2, and each of these pipes 33 is provided with a pipe 34, which communicates therewith and in which is formed an Sshaped trap or seal 35, and thepipe 29 communicates with the upwardly-directed leg 36 of the trap or seal of the generator adjacent to the gasometer, as shown at 37, and said leg of said trap is carried upwardly, as shown at 38, and the upper end thereof is open to form an air-vent. A pipe 39 communicates with the air-vent pipe 38 of the trap or seal 35 of the generator adjacent to the gasometer and with the upwardly-directed leg 36 of the trap or seal of the adjacent generator, and it will be apparent that any desired number of these generators may be thus employed and connected. Each of the gas-generators is also provided with a pipe 40, which extends into the bottom of the chamber 14 and up through the water therein to the top of said chamber, where it opens, as shown at 41, and the pipe 40 of each of the generators communicates with a pipe 42, and said pipe 42 is in communication with the gas-pipe 43 of the gasometer, and the gasometer is also provided with a gassupply pipe 44, by means of which the gas is conveyed to the points where it is desired for use.

Each of the pipes 43 and 44 is provided with a valve 45, and I have also shown the pipe 42, by which the gas is conveyed from the generators to the gasometer, as provided with condensers 46, two of which are shown. These condensers may be of any desired construction, and if placed between the gasometer and the generator adjacent thereto one of said condensers will be suflicient. The pipe 42 is also provided with hand-valves 47, and the pipes 34 are each provided with a valve 48, and the operation will be readily understood from the foregoing description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and the following statement thereof.

The water is maintained in the tank 28 at a constant level. From this tank the water flows through the pipe 29 and through the regulating-valve 30 and into the trap 35 of the adjacent generator, and from said trap 35 the water enters the bottom of the generator with which said pipe is connected. The water flows into the inner chamber of the gen-' erator, where the carbid boxes or receptacles are placed, and gradually rises therein and first attacks the carbid in the bottom box or receptacle, and when this is exhausted the water will rise to the next box, and so on to the top box or receptacle of the series. \Vhen the entire charge of the first receiver is exhausted, the water will pass through the pipe 39 into the adjacent receiver and will gradually fill the same, as above described, each of the boxes or receptacles 16 therein being successively operated upon thereby from the bottom upwardly.

It will be apparent that any desired number of these generators may be employed and connected, as herein shown and described, and it is impossible for the gas to back out through the water-pipes by reason of the traps or seals 35, in which the pressure of the water is greater than the pressure of gas in the apparatus, and the air-vent pipes 38 prevent the siphoning of water from one generator to the other, and it will be apparent that the capacities of these generators and of the entire apparatus may be regulated as desired.

In the operation of the generator the water rises from the central chamber thereof and flows over the top of and into the bottom box or receptacle 16, and the water gradually rises in the generator until the charge in the bottom box or casing is exhausted, after which the water attacks the charge in the next box or receptacle through the perforation 20 and continues to rise until it flows over the top of said box or receptacle, and so on until the entire charge in the generator is exhausted, and as-the gas is generated it rises in the casing 22, which forms a drum and the weight of which forces the gas through the pipe 40 into the gasometer, as will be readily understood.

It will be seen that the pipe 39, which connects the vent-pipe legs of the various traps, is at its highest end or the end from which the water flows at about the same level as the holes or perforations in the bottom of the top box or receptacle in the adjacent generator, and the water will therefore not flow through this pipe from the first generator to the second of the series until the first generator is exhausted, and when the water begins to flow from the first generator to the second it will cease to rise in the first generator, and this operation will be the same throughout the entire set of generators no matter how many may be employed. By reason of the form and construction of the traps and the vent-pipes connected with one leg thereof it is impossible for any gas to back out through the waterpipes, and the water seal in the traps also prevents the gas from passing out through the vent-pipes, and the main object of said ventpipes is to prevent the trap of one generator siphoning into the other through the connecting-pipe 39.

By means of an apparatus constructed as herein described the flow of the water is antomatically controlled from one generator to another, and the water will not pass from one generator to another until the charge in the first is entirely exhausted, and the said generators may be recharged whenever desired, and the operation of the entire apparatus is automatic.

Having fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An acetylene-gas apparatus, comprising a gasometer, and a plurality of generators in connection therewith, each of said generators being provided with a pipe for supplying water thereto, also with an S-shaped trap one leg of which. communicates with said pipe, and the other leg being provided with an upright vent-pipe, said traps being all placed in communication by pipes connected with the legs thereof with which the Vent-pipes are connected, and the vent-pipe leg of the trap of one of said generators being also provided with a main water-supply pipe, and means for automatically regulating the flow of water through said pipe, substantially as shown and described.

' 2. An acetylene-gas apparatus, comprising a gasometer, and a plurality of generators in connection therewith, each'of said generators being provided with a pipe for supplying water thereto, also with an S-shaped trap one leg of which communicates with said pipe, and the other leg being provided with an upright vent-pipe, said traps being all placed in communication by pipes connected with the legs thereof with which the vent-pipes are connected, and the vent-pipe leg of the trap of one of said generators being also provided with a main water-supply pipe, and means for automatically regulating the flow of Water through said pipe, consisting of a valve in operative connection with the vertically-movable holder of the gasometer, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence-of the subscribing witnesses, this 25th day of July, 1898.

ALFRED H. FRANGFORT.

Witnesses: V

F. A. STEWART, A. O. McLoUcHLiN. 

